The present invention relates to a dryer which dries utensils stored in a chamber of the dryer and more particularly to a dryer which circulates the air within the chamber of the dryer. The dryer of this invention can be provided with an additional conventional structure for washing dishes, thereby a dishwasher comprising the dryer of this invention can be provided.
A prior dishwasher comprising a dryer is disclosed in Japan Patent Publication No. 02-218327. In the disclosed dishwasher, a drying chamber where dishes are stored in racks is provided within an outer case. The moist air in the dish holding portion of the chamber is circulated to a rotating heat transfer unit located at the rear side of the chamber by a fan within the chamber. The air is also heated by a heater attached to the bottom of the chamber. Such as above described, the heated air is returned to the dish holding portion. Outside air is drawn into the outer case through inlets located on the rear wall of the outer casing. Then the outside air contacts the rotating heat transfer unit so that the heat is transferred between the air within the chamber and the outside air. After that, the outside air is exhausted from the outer casing through outlets located on the rear wall of the outer casing.
In this type of dryer or dishwasher, however, the outside air is drawn through the rear wall of the outer casing of the dishwasher, and then the air is exhausted to the rear of the dishwasher through the outlets located on the rear wall of the outer case. Therefore, when the dryer is included in a system kitchen, e.g., being installed in a row, the outside air with the heat absorbed from the inside air by the heat transfer unit, and exhausted to rearward, is held in a rear space between the rear wall of the dryer and a wall of the kitchen. Since the exhausted air is drawn into the inlets again, the air within the chamber is not cooled by the outside air efficiently. As a result, the dehumidifying capability of the dryer is reduced, and the capability of drying dishes is also reduced.
Further, in the prior dryer, although the dryer can be used independently, the space from which the outside air is drawn and exhausted to is still required to heat the rear area of the dryer. As a result, the dryer must be located with some distance between its rear wall and a wall in the kitchen. Consequently, there is another problem that more space is required to operate the dryer.